Schools are closed across the East Coast today as cities and towns recover from the effects of Hurricane Sandy, now considered one of the worst storms in U.S. history.
For educators in other parts of the country looking to give students some perspective on the events of the past couple of days, The New York Times’ Learning Network blog rounds up review questions on Hurricane Sandy’s composition and impact. See also its updated page on Teaching and Learning About Hurricanes.
In addition, Scholastic provides a teaching resource on hurricanes, and Discovery Education offers a lesson plan (grades 6 to 8) on hurricanes. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration compiles education resources on hurricanes as well.
Speaking of NOAA, there has also been some discussion in the news about how well meteorologists predicted and tracked this hurricane—a process that likely saved many lives. In that connection, check out this 2008 National Council of Teachers of Mathematics’ resource on Teaching and Learning Mathematics through Hurricane Tracking. A timely example of real-world learning if there ever was one.
Let us know how you are addressing the hurricane in your school or classroom.